Do-ocracy

Typically when someone wants to do or change something big at Noisebridge, they bring it up at a meeting and it goes through our Consensus Process. Most of the time many of us just don't want to be troubled with spending a week figuring out if everyone is ok with a small or mundane thing, and so there's Do-ocracy. Do-ocracy tends to work just as long as our only rule is followed, to be excellent to each other.

Do-ocracy: If you want something done, do it, but remember to be excellent to each other when doing so.

Contents

Use Cases

The Short Version

Dick asks around if anyone would feel negative about the bike shed being pink. No one does.

Dick paints the bike shed pink.

The Being Excellent To Each Other Version

Dick paints the bike shed pink.

Jane becomes unhappy about the fact that the bike shed she helped build is now pink.

Jane politely engages Dick in discussion about why he thought this was ok. Dick realized that other people he shares the space with have feelings too.

Jane and Dick decide to repaint the bike shed blue.

The What Normally Happens Version

Dick paints the bike shed pink.

Noisebridge is now so large someone is bound to have an opinion about something (typically this ends up being someone who is either more or less living out of the space or who is almost never at the space), so Jane gets fucking pissed off at Dick and threatens his life. She's not a fan of pink and since doesn't have a job and has been spending most of her time at Noisebridge, it's like a second home to her and wants it run her way.

They yell at each other for a while over the discussion mailing list, annoying hundreds of people.

Dick makes Noisebridge a very unwelcoming place for the next week since all he wants to talk about at the space is how much of a bitch Jane is and how you should state so on the mailing list as to tarnish her name.

Jane gives #bantown Dick's home address and phone number.

Dick ends up stating several times through out the next month that he's leaving, or has left Noisebridge, or any combination of the two.

Jane, in retaliation to Dick constantly reverting changes she's made to the wiki, shits on top of the electronics bench. A statement to those (everyone) that haven't stopped talking to Dick. This is called an Austin Solder Puddle.

Dick has dinner with Jake and after a bit of small talk ends up back at his place. The next morning he wakes up in Jake's bed, feeling a large pang of regret hit him. No shower will make him feel clean.

At this point one of two things happen.

Dick and Jane's friends overlap, they inadvertently end up at a bar drunk and make up. Crying in each others arms about how much of a waste Noisebridge is.

The drama continues until someone just gives up and moves on. At this point pretty much everyone's forgotten why this epic battle got started in the first place.

Notes

Do-ocracy works most of the time. When it doesn't is sort of sucks.

If someone nicely asks you to change something back, be nice back and just change it back.

If someone's being a dick to you about something you've changed, be nice and just change it back. If you must cry about it only do so after you've restored things.